Meeting held at Whitnall H.S. following arrest of food services worker
James Heidke
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Whitnall High School Superintendent Dr. Lowell Holtz held an informational meeting at the school on Monday, March 25th. This, after 55-year-old James Heidke of Milwaukee was charged with one count of use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime.
Heidke was a food services director at the school. Holtz says the district found out two days after Heidke was arrested on February 23rd. However, they did not release information to the public until March 13th.
Parents, including School Board Member Quin Brunette say they are frustrated they were kept in the dark for so long. Brunette says parents should not be finding out more information from the social media gossip mill than their superintendent.
"My daughter went on Facebook, as they all do, and found out right there and then. That's no way to find out. I think the school board and superintendent really needed to stay ahead of this. In the back of my head I was like we had the Penn State scandal. Was nothing learned from that?" Brunette said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Holtz says he was trying to prevent panic and promised the district is re-examining how it handles situations like this one in the future.
"If I could think of a way to word it so that people jumping to conclusions wouldn't happen, and people wouldn't be afraid for their kids I would've done that," Dr. Holtz said.
A criminal complaint in the case against Heidke indicates a Milwaukee police detective posed as a 15-year-old boy after reading a Craigslist posting allegedly written by Heidke on the "men for men" page.
The complaint indicates the posting said: "Older for Younger."
The criminal complaint in the case says: "Due to the fact that the ad mentioned that the poster was looking for “young” and “older for younger” with no specified age preference or limitation, the possibility exist that a minor would reply to such a post. It should be noted that a large majority of postings that are looking for 'young boys' or 'any age,' specify in the narrative clarifiers, such as 'over 18' or 'legal age.'"
The criminal complaint says on February 21st, an MPD detective replied to Heidke's post -- posing as a 15-year-old boy.
The complaint says Heidke responded, saying: "You're too young."
Then, the criminal complaint says Heidke asked the "boy" for a picture, and a conversation ensued, during which the complaint says Heidke invited the boy over.
At one point, the complaint indicates Heidke said: "Your not a cop or with law enforcement, are you?" Heidke also asked: "Does your mom monitor your computer or phone?" -- to which the detective replied "Naw, I got my own laptop n my own phone...she not that smart."
The complaint indicates Heidke told the "boy" -- "be sure to clear your history" -- referring to browsing history and email contact that occurred between the two.
The complaint indicates Heidke later invited the boy over again -- saying he had other guys over at the time -- asking if the boy wanted to join. The complaint indicates the man then sent the detective picture messages.
The criminal complaint in the case indicates the two planned to meet up at the CVS near Hampton and Santa Monica. That's when police arrested Heidke.
The criminal complaint indicates a search of Heidke's vehicle turned up an iPhone, a receipt from Spice Adult Gifts, 71 100mg pills of Viagra and 25 20 mg pills of Taladalfil, used to treat erectile dysfunction.
When questioned by police, Heidke admitted he liked younger guys, and said he and his 23-year-old roommate "would do threesomes once in awhile." Heidke told police he had taken the man in after meeting him on Craigslist and learning about his troubled life -- according to the complaint. Heidke told police his roommate "needed a mentor."
The complaint says Heidke told police: "Most of these kids are all kids that got, you know, they are looking for somebody with understanding and to help them out."
The complaint indicates a search of Heidke's home revealed a "glory hole" in the basement, with the word "men" written in black spray paint near it. Around the door were several handle bars to hold on to.
Officials also discovered a room in the basement with two couches and a lounge chair. The walls had graffiti style writing on them -- sexually explicit words, according to the criminal complaint.
The complaint indicates there was a mirror hanging from the ceiling with several hooks, which are used to hang a sling from. A leather sling with chains was found in an adjacent room, along with other sexual paraphernalia -- according to the complaint.